• Investigate a process known as core aeration, which can help control thatch and improve
compacted soil. A special machine lifts pinkie-finger-size plugs of soil and thatch from the lawn
and leaves them on the surface.

• Choose a type of grass, taking into account the amount of sun or foot traffic that the site
will receive.

• Apply seed. For best coverage, apply it in several directions. Lightly rake it into the soil;
good seed-to-soil contact helps immensely.

• Water. Maintain moisture. Irrigate. Oh — and don’t forget to turn on the sprinkler! Yes, it’s
hard to overstate the importance of keeping the surface of the soil from drying out. Newly
scattered seed and young seedlings must have reliable moisture.

If you’re wondering whether to use organic or conventional fertilizer — on a new or an
established lawn — Rimelspach said, “You can have a beautiful lawn either way.”

Organic tends to cost more but might help improve the soil, he added.

Central Ohioans have been lucky this year compared with last; the grass really is greener on the
other side of the calendar.

Unless you have repressed the painful memory, you’ll recall that last year was hot and dry,
leaving lawns brown and crispy by the end of summer. This year, rain has been steadier and
temperatures more moderate.

“I think lawns are going to be in very good shape going into fall compared to last year,”
Rimelspach said.

Perhaps you’ll even feel like reciting some poetry to yourself as you’re mowing or
fertilizing.

For your consideration, here’s a snippet — in original form — from another 19th-century poet,
Walt Whitman:

“I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.”